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Journal Article Largely overlooked in the theoretical and empirical literature on the crime decline is a long tradition of research in criminology and urban sociology that considers how violence is regulated through informal sources of social control arising from residents and organizations internal to communities. In this article, we incorporate the “systemic” model of community life into debates on the U.S. crime drop, and we focus on the role that local nonprofit organizations played in the national decline of violence from the 1990s to the 2010s. Using longitudinal data and a strategy to account for the…
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Journal Article Many Asian Americans tend to report receiving lower quality services from direct service providers. Improving the cultural competence of social workers and other professionals who work with Asian Americans may address this dissatisfaction. To date, there are few tools to help educators and supervisors evaluate the level of cultural competence of social workers and other health professionals. This study reports on the development and testing of a cultural competence measure to evaluate social workers’ preparedness for working with Asian American clients. Method: Based on a sample of 294…
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Journal Article This study reports the results of a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) needs assessment of programs, services, and support systems for fathers in the City of Detroit, Michigan. The goal of this needs assessment was to assess the availability of parenting support services to men through multiple perspectives. To enact a CBPR approach, the research team collected qualitative data through interviews with service providers and community dialogues with fathers and consulted a community advisory board for further guidance on the research efforts. The research team engaged in member…
Barriers to engaging fathers in child welfare practice are explored, as well as the dangers of adopting a practice model that uncritically embraces fathers. Perspectives from fathers are shared and practices are proposed that align with the following principles: acknowledge their existence, understand there are different ways to be a father, violence does not necessarily eliminate men from being involved as fathers, and understand the context. Discussion questions are included. 49 references.
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Journal Article In this analysis, we explore how low-income African American fathers build understandings of successful manhood in the context of community-based responsible fatherhood programs. Drawing on life history interviews with 75 men in Illinois and Indiana, we explore men's attempts to fulfill normative expectations of fatherhood while living in communities with limited resources. We examine the efforts of community-based fatherhood programs to shape alternative African American masculinities through facilitation of personal turning points and "breaks with the past," use of social support and…
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Journal Article Although much is known about 'parents' in child protection families, very little research has specifically examined fathers in these families. The scant extant research indicates that child welfare workers in many countries tend to have negative stereotypes of these men, assuming them to be uncommitted and uninvolved parents, and unable to cease drug use. The present study sought to add to the knowledge about fathers in child protection families, and to investigate whether or not there was support for these negative stereotypes within this sample. Study participants were 35 fathers associated…
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Journal Article Hegemonic representations of masculinity and dominant images of fatherhood have usually been linked to the domain of work. This article explores the experiences of men under the hardship of unemployment and the impact of these experiences on the construction of their gender identities, specifically on the construction of their fatherhood identity. In addition, the article examines how culture and national context affect the interrelationship between unemployment and fatherhood. Drawing on a post-structural constructivist theoretical perspective, the article describes a qualitative study of…
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Journal Article Black fathers are important advocates in addressing the underrepresentation of Black students in gifted programs, as well as the achievement gaps between Black and White students. Black fathers increasingly understand the important role that Black mothers have traditionally played in supporting their gifted children's school experiences. As a result, many are learning to value and embrace their fatherly role in nurturing their child's academic potential by establishing and cultivating relationships with gifted education teachers. Improving Black father and gifted education teacher…
This chapter focuses on the barriers that make it difficult for fathers from minority ethnic backgrounds to engage in family support services. It explains the benefits of father involvement in early child development, reviews legal provisions that tackle institutional racism and demand inclusion, and describes approaches for including fathers from minority ethnic backgrounds.
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Journal Article Accounts of fathers' reluctance to engage with locally based family learning groups rarely acknowledge the relationship between learning and identity. This tends not to be the case in parallel accounts of women's reluctance to become involved in groups or networks where the mainstream clientele is male. Drawing on the case study of a national initiative aimed at developing family literacy in local communities throughout the UK, it is argued that decisions to join or not to join these groups is primarily social and cultural rather than individual. This means that the attendance of fathers…
